


Crooked Wings

by orphan_account



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Angel Alec, Angst, Blackmail, M/M, Seperation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-01
Updated: 2013-08-01
Packaged: 2017-12-22 03:17:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/908257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone has their secrets but somehow Alec has always seemed to have more than everyone else. And now the one that could get him not just killed but destroyed is about to get out and there's nothing Alec can do to prevent it. Except for killing the man he loves.<br/>ON HIATUS</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mammon

**Author's Note:**

> Due to a computer crash that ate the last few chapters of this story, the story is currently on hiatus. 
> 
> The story picks up directly after Magnus and Alec's break up, thus Alec doesn't know that Camille has been killed by Maureen.

Magnus's fingers slipped from the witchlight, leaving it glowing a dull white color that was nothing compared to the colors it had thrown off when his fingers had been twined around it with mine only moments before.

"Goodbye, Alexander." He said softly, stepping away and turning to walk back down the abandoned subway tunnel.

I tried to call out for him, but I couldn't find my voice. What had I done? I'd never meant for this to happen. I'd just…just wanted to find a way to be with him, a way where mortality wouldn't be constantly hanging over our hearts.

"Awww. Poor little Shadowhunter, left all alone down in the deep dark tunnels." A young girl's voice chimed from behind me.

I spun, holding the witchlight high in an attempt to find the source, but found nothing. The tunnel was empty as far as I could tell.

"Hello…" I said softly, watching everything closely for any movements.

I was answered by a soft giggle and a whisper that I couldn't make out. Reaching around I clasped my hand around the hilt of the only weapon I had with me: a tiny seraph blade.

"Now now, Alexander, that isn't very nice. Maureen and I just want to have a little chat with you. No need to get touchy with us." A deep, male, voice answered from the edge of my circle of light, stepping forward just as he finished speaking. The man was tall, possibly even taller then Magnus, his jet black hair slicked back in the fashion of a bygone era. The suit he wore was an old style as well but looked new. It was black, glistening here and there with jewels resembling rubies. There was something strangely familiar about him, but I couldn't place it.

"I don't want to talk with him. I want to drink him." Maureen pouted, peaking out from behind the man who's waist she barely made it to. She was a young girl, no more than twelve. She was wearing tattered jeans and a pink shirt with a bejeweled unicorn sparkling on them. A pink scarf was wrapped around her neck, the ends soaked in blood. When she smiled I saw the glint of her needle sharp teeth and realized what she was: vampire. And the blood staining her clothing was from another vampire, it was to dark to be human.

"Oh no, sweetheart, you don't want to drink this one. His blood would kill you."

"Who are you?" I broke in.

The man smiled, almost sweetly, "I am Mammon. One of the Seven Princes of hell, as most people refer to me. I have other names though. Would you like to know them?"

I could feel the blood drain from my face as I took a step backward, my hand falling away from the blade still tucked in my waist band. It wouldn't do me any good, not against him. Not against Mammon. One of the seven princes of hell. I'd stand no chance against him even if I had every weapon possible at my disposal. Even Jace wouldn't stand much of a chance against him, no matter how many special abilities he might have.

"Thanks, but I already know them." I responded, trying to keep my head as my mind raced through every possible way out of this. All ideas ended in the same manner though: I wasn't getting out.

"Oh? I have heard you are quite smart. You see, I've been watching you for a little while now. You might not be the most noticed of your little band of hunters, but I'm beginning to think you may be the best of them, for various reasons. You're certainly more interesting."

"And why is that?" I matched every step he took, still desperately trying to find a way out of this.

"A lot of reasons. But only one of them really matters to me." Mammon smirked and took another step closer, the smirk splitting into a full grin as I took another step back. "Of course," He continued, "you of all people know what me being one of the Seven Princes means. It means I'm a Fallen Angel. Banished from Heaven and sent to Hell to rot. Rotting is rather dull though, I much prefer the delights of this world to the few to be found in the demon realm. And, of course, you know what me being a Fallen Angel means for you, don't you?"

Before I knew what had happened I was pinned to the wall with his hand at my throat, crushing away my ability to breath.

"It means you're mine." He whispered, inches from my face. "It means I know every. single. one. of. your. secrets."

I looked into his eyes and finally realized what was so familiar about him. It was his eyes. He had Magnus's eyes.


	2. Whiskey

"You did the right thing. He'll be safe now. He'll be safe now." I chanted to myself, gripping tightly to the edges of my sink, staring into the reflection of my own eyes. "Mammon won't hurt him if he thinks you don't love him. He'll be safe."

I figured if I just said it enough, I'd believe it. I'd believe that I hadn't been stupid to fall in love again after what Mammon had done to the last person unlucky enough to carry the title of "Magnus Bane's Significant Other". A shudder ran through my body at the thought of that night, fifty eight years ago, when Mammon had found my lover of the moment. I'd been fond of Paul, but he was nothing compared to what I felt for my little blue eyed shadowhunter. Paul wasn't even a footnote in comparison to that. But he'd been close enough that Mammon had felt the need to torture him in an attempt to scare me. He had beaten and tortured Paul for three days, then left him on my doorstep to die in my arms. It had been an attempt to get me on his side, to show what he was capable of and what he would do if I didn't follow him. It hadn't worked, but it had hurt like hell none the less. And if that was what Mammon was willing to do with someone I only sort of cared about, what would he do to someone I wanted to spend the rest of my existence with?

"No." I shook my head, trying to force the thought out of my head. "Nothing is going to happen. Mammon won't do anything to Alec because he'll never know you loved him. He'll never know."

Convincing myself of this fact wasn't going very well though. No, my mind kept going back to the letter I'd received from Camile maybe a week ago now.

Dear Magnus,

Watch your little shadowhunter carefully. Rumor has it, your father has been seen recently. I don't know how long he's been around, but those of my coven who are still loyal to me believe it has been for some time now. And if he's here but lying low it can't be good. Be careful.

-Camile

It was a testament to how dangerous my father was that Camile was willing to write me and warn me. And if he truly had been around for as long as her Coven believed, there was a very good chance he knew about Alec.

"And he definitely knows exactly where you are." I mumbled at my reflection, clutching my bandaged side that somehow Alec hadn't noticed in the past two days.

Two days ago I'd been on my way home from walking Alec to the subway station when I'd been attacked by Mammon himself. That was how it usually went when he came after me. He would try to convince me to join him in taking down the Clave to spite the Angels that had banished him and when I said no he would try and kill me, which would fail, and then he would send someone else in to do the dirty work, which wouldn't work either, and then Mammon would be killed somehow and vanish for awhile before the cycle started again. I'd never been able to confirm it, but I was sure it must've been Angles killing him every time. If it was a shadowhunter they would've been worshiped as a hero and everyone in the world would've been made to know of Mammon's great defeat at the hands of a shadowhunter. But it never happened like that. He'd just vanish all of a sudden, never seen again until some poor fool summoned him.

Vaguely I wondered who he would send to kill me this time, now that he'd failed as he always did. Usually he'd send another warlock. A rouge shadowhunter once or twice in the old days when they were allowed to hunt downworlders for sport. He'd even sent a greater demon a few times. Those were the most effective ones, the greater demons, but somehow I had always managed to make it out the other side. But this time…well, I was already weak from being injured in the fight against Sebastian, as well as the fight with Mammon. And now I was drained from the struggle of pulling myself away from Alec.

"But it's worth it. It's all worth it to keep him safe." I chanted again, thunking my head against the mirror.

"That broken look on his face was worth it? Shattering his heart because he thought you really loved him was worth it?" A little voice whispered in the back of my mind.

"He'll be safe." I whispered. "It's the only way."

Snapping my fingers I summoned a bottle of strong whiskey, downing a huge swig in an attempt to drown out that little voice of reason in the back of my head. I was having enough of a guilt trip from my regular voice, I didn't need an extra one chiming in. Vaguely I was aware of my phone ringing out in my room, but I just took another swig and pretended I couldn't hear it.

"He's safe now." Swig. "He'll be okay." Swig. "You did the right thing." Swig. "He-hic-he'll be okay." Swig. Slide to the floor. Swig. "Safe." Swig.


	3. Searching

"Magnus isn't answering either." Jace grumbled, chucking his phone down onto his bed as he paced the room.

"Why are you calling Magnus?" Izzy asked as she slipped into the room, joining me on the bed. "Hi Clary."

"He thinks something is wrong with Alec…" I answered softly, watching Jace pace the room. His brow was furrowed and he was rubbing anxiously at one of his parabati runes on his forearm.

"What do you mean?" She asked, watching her brother pace. "And would you stop that? You're ruining the carpet."

"Izzy. I don't give a shit about the fucking carpet." Jace snapped, turning to glare at his sister who looked extremely surprised. I was guessing she wasn't used to him acting like this. Not that I was either. "Something is wrong with Alec. I can feel it. He isn't answering his phone and Magnus isn't answering his and… I know something is wrong."

"Like what? I mean, what exactly are you feeling?" I asked, trying and failing to gently coax him over to the bed before he started to pace again.

"I don't know it's just…off. It feels almost like how it felt when he was attacked by the Greater Demon…but he isn't in pain." Jace mumbled, rubbing at his arm again.

I noticed that the more anxious he got, the more the soft glow of his skin from the fire seemed to increase. I was starting to worry that if I didn't calm him down he might actually ignite himself or something else in the room. Nudging Izzy with my knee I scribbled out a quick note about the fire in my sketchbook and flashed it to her, giving her a pointed look. She nodded quickly, showing she understood, before she stood from the bed.

"Well, come on then. Let's go find him." Izzy strode towards the door, turning back to stare at Jace as I stood from the bed.

"I'm not supposed to leave the institute." Jace answered, though he took a step towards the door anyways.

"Right, because you're just so good at listening." Izzy snorted.

"Fair point." Jace answered, "But we need to go to his room first. We need something to track him with." As he spoke he followed her out of his room and down the hallway with me bringing up the rear.

"We're going to need to find a different way out, they'll be watching the front door. I vote we use a window on the back." Isabelle whispered once we'd secured something to track Alec with. Jace and I nodded and followed her to a window she deemed suitable before jumping out and scurrying to the edge of the lot, climbing through a chink in the wire fence and taking cover in the alley way.

"You're far to good at sneaking out, Iz." Jace scolded teasingly, a small smile on his face.

"Lot's of practice. I'll never understand why Mom and Dad haven't figured out I use the windows to get out. I mean, I'm a Shadowhunter! Why in the world wouldn't I jump out a window?"

"Because you could break a heel?" Jace grinned, earning a slap upside the head.

"Come on, we're supposed to be finding Alec, aren't we?" I chastised gently, trying to get them back on track.

Jace nodded and held the small scrap of blood stained cloth in his hand as he drew the tracking rune on the back of his scarred palm. Apparently it was common for shadowhunters to cut off scraps of their bloody clothing to keep for tracking purposes. It was a little morbid in my opinion, but I could see the value of it.

"What is it?" Isabelle asked when Jace frowned.

"It isn't working…"

"What do you mean it isn't working?" Izzy stomped her boot frustratedly.

"I don't know. It just…isn't." Jace stared at the scrap of cloth in confusion. "I've used this one to track him before and it worked just fine…"

"Well, here, let me try. Maybe the fire's interfering with it somehow." I answered, taking the scrap of cloth and drawing the rune on myself.

Both of them watched me anxiously, the anxious looks turning to slightly fearful ones when I didn't get anything either.

"So…what now?" I asked, looking between them.

"We go to Magnus's." Jace said after a moment. "If Alec isn't there, Magnus should at least be able to do a more powerful tracking spell and tell us where he is."

Nodding in agreement the three of us set out for Magnus's flat. Izzy and I were wary of taking Jace on something as enclosed and as crowded as the subway, but a portal seemed even more potentially dangerous so we all boarded the emptiest car we could find. After a few minutes a slightly dazed look came over Jace's face and he started rubbing at his arm again.

"Izzy, has something like this ever happened before with them?" I whispered, keeping my eyes on Jace.

She shook her head, watching him as well. "Not like this. I've seen what their connection can do when the other is in trouble before…but I've never seen this."

The rest of the ride went by in silence, and by the time we arrived at the correct station Jace was so out of it Izzy and I each had to take once of his arms and steer him off the train. Thankfully his head seemed to clear once we reached the cool night air of the street.

"Now is it third street or fourth street we need to take…?" Izzy mumbled, looking around.

"I'm pretty sure it's third." I responded.

"Hope so." Izzy replied as she strode down the street, Jace and myself right behind her.

After a five minute walk we reached Magnus's flat and rang the buzzer. No one answered it though, so Jace rung several more times before holding the button and speaking into the microphone,

"Magnus! It's Jace. Open up. Something's wrong with Alec and we can't find him." Jace paused, waiting to see if he got an answer, "Damnit, Magnus! Answer your damn door! Alec needs help!"

"Well if he won't open his door, we will." Izzy flipped her hair over her shoulder and leaned down to scribble an unlocking rune on the door. It cracked and sizzled for a moment before vanishing.

"You didn't honestly think that would work, did you?" Jace asked. "He's a High Warlock, not a mundane."

"Well it was worth a shot! I figured his stuff couldn't be to strong, he does have mundane neighbors on the floor below him after all!"

"Maybe they'll let us in." I mused.

"Even if they did, Magnus's actual door will be just as locked, if not more so." Jace slumped against the wall, rubbing at his arm again as he stared across the street. "We've gotta find him."

"Well, we can't sit out here all night while we try to figure out what to do. We'll freeze to death. I vote we go to Simon's and figure out what to do." Isabelle suggested.

"No, dude, Master Chief would totally defeat Darth Vader in a no holds barred battle!" Jordan exclaimed, waving his hands around, a half gone cigarette held between his fingers. "He's got long range weapons!"

"Yeah, but Darth Vader has the force! That's his long range weapon. And really what's a few bullets gonna do when you're half robot anyways?" Simon replied.

"We picked a weird moment to walk in apparently…" I chuckled, stepping out from behind Izzy who apparently had a key to Simon and Jordan's apartment, a fact I would investigate more later.

"This idiot thinks Darth Vader would beat Master Chief in a no holds barred battle," Jordan responded, gesturing at Simon who was splayed out across the couch. "Tell him he's an idiot."

"You're an idiot, Simon. Of course Master Chief would win. He's way better at hand to hand combat and he has way more weapons. Not to mention he has a body that actually functions, unlike Vader who is dead without his suit on." I responded, plopping into the frayed arm chair.

Jordan blinked and then grinned, "You need to come over more often, Clary."

"Alright, Alright, as fun as this is watching you three nerd out together, we have other stuff to worry about." Izzy said, flicking Simon before he could respond.

"You really enjoy that you can do that without flying across the room now, don't you?" Simon grumbled, rubbing his head.

"You have no idea." Izzy grinned, sitting down next to him.

"Hey…I thought you were pretty much quarantined at the institute until further notice?" Jordan spoke up, pointing at Jace who was standing and looking out the window.

"I am." Jace mumbled, still worrying at his arm.

"Something is wrong with Alec." I told Jordan when he looked confused at Jace's response. Quickly I filled him and Simon in on everything from the past hour and a half. "So we came here, since we figured it was the best place to go without anyone figuring out that Jace left the institute. Well, no one figuring out that would turn him in or anything."

"That's weird. That Magnus isn't answering either, I mean. Are you sure something isn't wrong with him as well?" Jordan asked, leaning against the wall near the couches.

"No, we aren't. For all we know, they're both in trouble. But we have nothing we could use to try and track Magnus, so we don't know if he's untrackable right now like Alec is."

"But who could take down Alec and Magnus. I mean, Alec's a really good shadowhunter and Magnus is an insanely powerful warlock, right? Together they should be pretty much invincible shouldn't they?" Simon looked between Izzy and I.

"We don't know that they were together. But it doesn't make sense for someone to grab them separately…" Isabelle thought aloud.

"Does it really make sense for someone to grab them at all?" Jordan asked.

"…I can think of why Sebastain might. He's still out there after all." I whispered, hating to bring it up but knowing I needed to. "I mean, we don't know what his plans might be. Maybe he needed a powerful Warlock for something and decided to use Magnus and took Alec so that he would have leverage against Magnus. Or he took Alec to have leverage against Jace and Magnus isn't missing…"

Isabelle visibly paled at this, and Simon wrapped an arm tightly around her, "I'm sure he'll be alright, Izzy, Alec's smart and he's strong. He'll be okay."

Izzy nodded meekly and leaned into Simon, resting her head on his shoulder.

"So…what now?" Jordan asked, looking between all of us. But none of us had an answer for him. None of us knew what to do now.


	4. Hitman

I woke up tied to a metal bed frame with no mattress, my hands tied tightly above my head and my ankles bound just as tightly at the bottom of the frame. The bonds were laced with magic as well, I could feel it buzzing softly against my skin. My head was spinning as was the little of the room I could make out in the dim light. Closing my eyes I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm the dizziness. When I opened my eyes again the room was still enough that I could make out what little there was to be made out. Aside from the bed frame I was tied to there were a few empty pallets and a couple dead rats. The room was small, just barely long enough to hold the bed and not much wider either. There were no windows, but a small amount of light crept in around the door frame next to my head.

"What the hell happened?" I whispered to myself, trying to call up the images as I wiggled and worked at my bonds. I remembered being in the tunnels with Magnus, Magnus leaving and then…someone had been there. A tall man, and a little girl to. A little vampire girl.

"Mammon." I murmured, my eyes widening as I remembered what had happened after that.

Suddenly the door flew open and the vampire girl, Maureen if I remembered right, was standing over me again, grinning with her fangs out and blood dripping down her face, "Sir!" She said in a sing-song voice, "He's awake."

"Is he now? Wonderful. I was beginning to worry. He's far to important for us to let him die now." Mammon stepped into the room, pushing Maureen aside as he leered over the bed. "Hello, Alexander. So sorry about the bonds, but I really can't have you running off on me. As I said, you're very important."

"What do you want?" I ground out, not in the mood to play games with him.

"So many things, Alexander. Everything, really. And I intend to get it all. But as for what I need from you, well, that's relatively simple. I need you to kill someone for me. Someone who is very powerful, to powerful for me to kill. Especially when he's expecting it from me. But you're close to him, so I think you should be able to do it quite simply." He paused, sitting on the edge of the bed frame. "I want you to kill my son." He leaned over me, smirking.

My eyes widened as I saw his and I remembered that I'd seen them just before I passed out. I'd come to the same conclusion then. They were Magnus's eyes. The same green and gold with slit pupils.

"Magnus." I whispered without meaning to.

"Yes, that's right. I want you to kill Magnus Bane. My failure of a son."

"W-why?"

Maureen giggled in the corner, clearly enjoying my distress.

"Simple. He's in my way." Mammon sat back, no longer in my face. "I want to bring down the Clave to spite those bastards that sent me to hell, to show them that this world is mine, but every time I try he prevents it. I created him to help me, but apparently I choose to decent of a woman for his mother. I need him out of my way so that my plans can continue. He has been interfering for far to long."

"I will never touch Magnus." I growled, tugging on my bonds again.

"Oh, but you will. Would you like to know why?" He paused and then continued when I didn't answer, "Because I know your secret, Alexander. I know what you really are, and it isn't a Shadowhunter. Not anymore."

"Yes he is." Maureen frowned, stepping closer, "He's got runes and stuff, doesn't he?"

"Oh yes, he's got runes." Mammon answered, his fingers tracing along one of the marks on my exposed arm. I could feel his flesh burn as he touched it, could smell the sickening scent. "But Shadowhunters aren't the only ones that can bear these." He traced another one with another finger, "No, Angels can bear them to." He said softly. "They are, after all, their creations."

"He's an Angel?" Maureen's eyes widened, stepping close enough that her thighs were pressed against the edge of the bed. "He doesn't look like one though…is he a fallen one like you?"

"No, no. He's here of his own accord. You see, the Angel Realm has this funny little law. If you die alone, with no one around and no one knows that you are dead you can return to the human realm. But you must keep your true, angelic form, hidden at all costs. If you ever reveal to anyone, even your closest friend or lover, what you really are you will be taken back to the Angel Realm and executed. Isn't that right, Alexander?"

I was completely still now, and completely terrified. He was right. Completely right.

"How old were you when you died, hmm? It couldn't have been more than a few months ago. People who take this opportunity never last long. They just can't do it. They realize how painful it is to remain in human form for more than a few days at a time and they realize that if they don't just return to the Angle Realm of their own accord they'll slip up and be killed."

When I didn't answer Mammon just shrugged and stood, "Fine then. I don't really need to know. Here's the deal: you either kill my son, or I let the entire world know what you really are and you get killed, and then I find a way kill Magnus myself. Maybe your family to, as punishment for not obeying me. Or I could have Maureen do away with them. She's quite good at killing."

"Please, you," I tried, before Mammon cut me off.

"'Please, you' what? Can't? Shouldn't?" Mammon laughed and kicked the bed frame hard enough that it flipped over, pinning me to the ground. He leaned down and pulled a knife from his pocket, "Watch me." He whispered, placing the knife within reach of my hands before he stood again. "You have three days."

The door clicked shut and I was alone again. Completely and utterly alone. How had he known? How had he known what I was? I was always careful, always. Mammon was right, it was impossible to keep a human form intact for more then three days, four if you pushed it, without collapsing in pain. But I'd found ways to make it work. The day after I'd woken up back in the human realm I'd taken what little money I had and rented a crappy studio apartment hidden away in the corner of an old brownstone that no one else lived in. I'd bricked up the windows and payed a warlock to put enchantments on the room to keep everyone else out. Then, when I needed to shift into my angelic form for awhile, I would tell everyone I was going for a walk in central park and instead go there. It had always worked. I'd always been safe there. Three years, and I had always been safe.


	5. Confusion

After an awkward struggle to grasp the knife I'd managed to undo my bonds and was sitting across the room, knees pulled tightly to my chest and biting my knuckles to keep from screaming. What did I do now? I couldn't go home, everyone would be able to tell something was wrong. I couldn't go to Magnus's not only because he didn't want anything to do with me anymore, but because I would be putting him in danger by going there. I couldn't go to my studio apartment because it may not be safe anymore either. Mammon had to know about it if he knew my secret.

Or maybe…maybe it was because he was a Fallen Angel that he knew it. Maybe he could sense it somehow. I didn't really know how any of that Angel stuff truly worked. I just knew that if I ever revealed what I was to anyone I would be taken back to the Angel Realm and killed. And if you were killed while in the Angle realm you weren't just killed, your soul was destroyed. You were gone completely and forever. Beyond that, my knowledge of Angels and Angelic Law was limited to what was in the shadowhunter texts. I'd never wanted to know more than that. Because if I knew more than that it would make what had happened to me three years ago far to real. If I knew more than that I couldn't pretend things were still normal. And I wanted things to be normal so desperately. I wanted to be able to go a week without having to sneak away and lie to the people I loved. I wanted to kiss and make love with Magnus without having to worry that I would get to into it and my control would slip and my secret would be out and I would be dead.

I was also a little confused as to why I hadn't been retrieved and brought back to the Angel realm yet. My secret was out, so what was I still doing here?

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the feeling of my phone vibrating in my pocket. A part of me was hoping that it would be someone calling to say I'd been missing, that I'd hit my head and this was all a bad dream. But I knew that wasn't true. I pulled the phone out anyways. Jace's name flashed on the screen along with the words "28 missed calls". Chewing my lip I flipped the phone open and waited for him to talk, not knowing what to say.

"Alec?! Alec, where are you? Alec?" Jace sounded panicked, which for someone as cool headed as him was rather worrying.

"Central Park." I lied, "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? I've been calling you for hours damnit! I tried to track you to and it didn't work! Damnit, Alec, I thought…I thought Sebastian got you or something! Why the hell haven't you been answering your phone?"

I hesitated for a moment, trying to figure out what to say to him. "Magnus and I broke up. I just…needed to be alone for awhile. Need to be alone for awhile. I put an anti-tracking rune on myself so you couldn't find me. I'm sorry I scared you so much, I should've told you guys so you wouldn't need to worry." There, that wasn't to bad. At least it was only a partial lie.

The line was silent for a moment before Jace spoke again, "I don't believe you, Alec. I can feel that there's something else wrong, really wrong."

"Jace…"

"Alec, I'm your parabati, you can trust me. Just tell me what's going on. Please." The desperation was back in his voice.

"I do trust you, Jace, you know I do. But I can't tell you. I'm sorry." I clicked the phone shut before he could answer, chucking it across the room in frustration. I shouldn't have answered. Now they would be trying even harder to find me, and putting themselves in danger by doing so.

"What do I do?" I mumbled to myself, resting my head in my hands.

"Alec? Alec! Damnit." Jace snapped his phone shut and just stared at it.

"Did he hang up?" Izzy asked worriedly. She was still curled into Simon, though she'd sat up a bit when Alec had actually answered his phone for the first time tonight.

"Yeah." Jace mumbled.

"Here, give me that." Simon stood up, holding out his hand for Jace's phone.

"Why?" Jace's brows furrowed, refusing to hand over the small object.

"Because I might be able to track his phone, that's why." Simon replied, hand still held out.

"You can track a phone?" Izzy asked, looking slightly confused.

"Some phones you can." Jordan told her. "Not really all that legal though."

"Fine." Jace handed Simon the phone and watched as he plugged it into his laptop and started tapping away at the keys.

Simon and I had discovered phone tracking in the sixth grade and had gotten quite good at it. We had a game we'd played where we'd track each other through the city and if you managed to stay hidden for over an hour then you won and whoever the loser was bought lunch for the day. He almost always won though, since he was the best at navigating.

"Here, got it. His phone's in a warehouse on the north edge of the island, near the boat docks." Simon pointed to the little blinking dot on the map on his screen.

I quickly scribbled down the address as Jace dashed for the door, Izzy on his heels. Jordan and Simon followed us as well and soon we were all back on the subway. It was nearly empty now, only the few straggling partiers and homeless people could be found in the cars. Jace was pacing and rubbing at his arm again, as well as chewing his lip now.

"Why would Alec lie to me?" He mumbled aloud, turning to me as he spoke.

"I don't know, Jace, but we'll figure it out." I soothed, trying not to let it show how closely I was monitoring the glow of his skin.

Once we finally reached our stop I was convinced that even the craziest person on that train was pretty sure that Jace was in fact the crazy one after all his pacing and muttering to himself. The cold air helped clear his head once more, though he continued to rub his arm.

"Which way are we going?" Jordan asked, looking around in a way that was obviously his method of checking for a threat.

"Ummm…" I glanced down at the address I'd scribbled out and looked around, "This way." I told them, walking straight forward two blocks before turning right. Everyone followed, paying close attention to our surroundings. We were all well aware of the possibility of a major threat, given the circumstances.

After about fifteen minutes the warehouse loomed out in front of us from the fog rolling off of the water. It was small for a warehouse, and it looked one good windstorm from blowing down. But this is where Alec's phone had been when we tracked it, so we went in. Izzy and I each held a witchlight aloft, looking around the derelict building as the others stuck close to our pools of light.

"Alec?" Izzy called softly, answered only by an empty echo.

"Come on, there's some doors over on the left there." Jordan pointed to a wall that contained several unevenly spaced doors. We all moved carefully to check each one, finding them empty. Just as we were about to turn away from the last room, in which was a turned over metal bed frame and a few pallets, I spotted a small, shiny object on the floor.

"Wait," I stepped into the room and picked it up. It was Alec's phone, the screen cracked and the sides scuffed up.

"So…now what?" Jordan asked, eying the phone. "Got any other ideas for how to track him down?"


	6. Daughter

Soon after I had hung up my phone I left the warehouse, going back down into the subway tunnels. They felt like the best place to be right now. Safer, somehow, then being up on the streets. Which was a little ironic given that the tunnels were exactly where Mammon had found me before. A little ironic as well given that it was in the tunnels that I'd been killed three years ago.

I slipped out of the institute, hoping no one had seen me go. I needed out. I couldn't be there right now. Couldn't be there with all of them staring at me. Jace staring at me. I had finally let myself think it, think that maybe I was gay and that maybe I was in love with my best friend. It had always hovered on the back of my mind before but I'd always done everything I could to ignore it. If I ignored it it wasn't real. If I ignored it I wasn't a disgrace to my family. If I ignored it I wouldn't run the risk of being banished from the Clave.

But tonight I hadn't been able to ignore it. Tonight we'd gone to Taki's and Jace had flirted with the waitress like he always did, but even more than was his custom. I hadn't been able to ignore the painful flare of jealously that had sprung up. Hadn't been able to ignore what the flirtatious look on his face made me think. But I'd kept my mouth shut and my mind silent long enough to make it back to the institute and into the training room to train with Jace before bed. And then I'd made the mistake of watching him as he stripped his shirt off, watching his muscles flex and his skin shimmer in the lights hanging from the rafters and drifting through the windows from the city streets. When I felt my body begin to react I'd made the excuse of dinner not sitting well and needing to go and lie down. Jace had believed it and I'd left him training alone as I snuck out to get away from everything.

Now I was walking alone, hands shoved deep in my pockets as thunder rolled above me. I knew I should get inside before the storm really started but I couldn't bring myself to be around people. I didn't want to see the looks of disgust they would surely send my way when they realized I was a fag. So when the rain started I ducked into a subway tunnel, realizing belatedly it was closed down for maintenance with huge warning signs everywhere saying you would be fined and jailed if caught inside. Not that I cared, no mundane would be able to see me anyways.

I walked slowly down the empty platform, focusing on all the little bits of graffiti and trash in an attempt to distract myself from my own thoughts. It almost worked a little to well though, I almost missed the soft hum of my sensor going off in my pocket. Before I could even grab a blade from my belt I saw something slither out from under the platform in the corner of my eye. I spun towards the movement, drawing the blade as I did so. But everything was still now, my sensor still buzzing softly creating the only sound aside from the distant patter of rain. Carefully I walked backwards trying to make it back up the steps before whatever demon it was attacked. But I was so preoccupied with the possibility of it coming from in front of me, and so used to having Jace at my back, that I didn't even consider watching my back myself.

I heard the wet slither just before I felt something slice through my jacket and grate against my skin. At first I thought whatever it was had missed me, or maybe just scratched me, but then I caught site of the shimmering horn protruding through my chest. And I just stared at it vaguely wondering why it didn't hurt as my vision started to dim.

That had been three years ago now. Three years, two months, one week and four days. Two days after my fifteenth birthday I had been attacked and killed in an abandoned subway tunnel with no one around to know I was gone. After everything had gone black my memory was hazy. I remembered being in a glistening city that reminded me of Alicante, and speaking to someone, and then I was waking up in my own bed in the Institute. I thought I had dreamed everything, that it was a bad nightmare conjured up by to much stress. But I'd locked myself in the bathroom anyways and relaxed the way the man in my dream had told me to. When I opened my eyes again I'd nearly screamed. A pair of soft white wings were visible over my shoulders, arching up almost to the top of my head. And that wasn't the only difference either. I was slightly taller, my shoulders were wider and I had an extra band of muscles under my pectoral ones that looked nearly the same. I discovered later they were the muscles responsible for most of the movement of my wings. But in that moment I was terrified. I had died, and now I would have to lie to the people I loved every single day for the rest of my life. In a way I was grateful for it, the chance to come back and see my family again. Protect them like I had always promised I would.

I discovered later that I'd actually been missing for a day which had sent everyone into a complete panic. I'd managed to lie my way out of it with Izzy's help though I had later learned she was completely convinced I'd run off with some boyfriend and only lied for me because she thought it was 'romantic' to run off with people you loved and not tell your family where you were going. Those first few days had been the hardest, especially when another local shadowhunter discovered what was apparently my blood splashed all over the tunnels. It had been so mixed with demon poison that it had thankfully been unidentifiable. After awhile I'd settled into a rhythm. I got my apartment and I would go to it every two to three days. I made sure not to evenly space my visits though, lest any of my family begin to suspect something was strange about me leaving on an exact schedule.

And then, almost exactly a year later, Jace had asked me to be his parabati. Part of me was scared to say yes because I was afraid the bond would let him know how I felt, no matter how much I tried to hide it. Part of me was terrified that going through the parabati ritual could expose my secret somehow. But I'd gone through with it anyways and never once regretted it.

"You know, he isn't down here." A child's voice interrupted my thoughts. At this point, I wasn't even surprised to see that it was Maureen.

"Who isn't down here?" I asked, leaning against the opposite wall of the tunnel and staring at her. It was hard to suppress the shudder that ran through me when I saw that she was sucking on a severed thumb as if it were a lollipop.

"Magnus. He's at home. Drunk and passed out on the floor of his bathroom." Maureen grinned around the finger as I paled. She was well aware that I knew she would have to be in the apartment to see that: there were no windows in the bathroom. Then again, she could've been lying. "You really should get on with killing him though. Master Mammon is getting impatient. I know he said you have three days, but I'm pretty sure you'd be lucky to get two."

"What I do or don't do isn't really any concern of yours, Maureen." I looked away, trying to ignore the slurping noises she was making as she sucked every last drop of blood out of the digit.

"Oh, but it is. Master Mammon asked me to follow you, to make sure you did what he told you to."

"If you're supposed to be following me, then how did you know where Magnus was? I didn't go to his apartment. So you couldn't have been following me this whole time." I replied.

She frowned, glaring over at me, "I got hungry and decided to stop by before I found someone to eat."

"And did your 'Master' let you do that?" I was beginning to wonder just how loyal Maureen was to Mammon, or if maybe she was just working for him because she feared him.

"That's none of your business." She spat, tossing the thumb to the ground.

"Maureen, you don't have to listen to him if you don't want to." I said softly. It was in my nature to try and protect her, she was still just a little girl after all.

"Yes I do! He…he…I have to." She crossed her arms, pouting slightly. "Besides. Master Mammon is a great man. I'm happy to serve him."

"Maureen," I started.

"Now now, Alexander. I worked hard to acquire that little girl. Don't go turning her against me now." Mammon's voice sounded from the shadows. "Besides, you have work to do for me. Run along and get it done. My daughter and I have our own work to attend to." He stepped out, draping an arm around Maureen who looked elated at being referred to as his daughter. "You'd best hurry up. Or you and your family are dead."

"Yeah. Get going." Maureen sneered, leaning into Mammon's side.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't help you." I said softly.

"I don't need any help from you." She spat. "You're a filthy Shadowhunter. I don't want anything to do with you."

"As fun as it is watch you attempt to play the hero, Alexander, we have other things to attend to, as do you. Now run along."

I gave Maureen one last sad glance before I backed away to leave. There was nothing I could do for her, not anymore.


	7. Eternity

I woke up stuck to the floor of my bathroom,an empty bottle still clutched loosely in my hand. Peeling myself up I managed to make my way out of the bathroom without catching sight of what was sure to be a horrible reflection. Not that I went very far. I only managed to make it to my bed before collapsing on top of it. This only made it worse though because I could smell him. I could smell the sandalwood soap we shared intertwined with something akin to vanilla and that almost sweet scent that shadowhunters all had. It all mixed together to create my favorite scent in the world: the scent of the man I loved. The scent of the man who's heart I had broken.

Just as I started to sob again I heard the shrill sound of my phone buzzing against one of my metal belt buckles. I didn't want to deal with people right now, I just wanted to be alone to wallow in my self-induced misery. The phone buzzed three more times before going to voice-mail, then Jace's voice came over the line. But it wasn't his normal calm and collected tone that I heard. He was panicked.

"Magnus? Magnus, damnit, I need you to answer. Something…something's really wrong with Alec. We haven't been able to find him or track him all night and we couldn't get a hold of you either and then he finally answered about half an hour ago and…" There was a pause as he took a shaky breath, "and he finally answered and he said you two broke up but there's something else going on with him, I know there's something else going on and I think he's in danger and just…just can you please pick up? I need to find him and we've tried everything we can think of already. Please. Magnus. Even if you guys did break up, just please help me find him before something happens."

I sat up and reached out, flipping the phone open as he continued talking, "What do you mean you know something else is wrong?"

"I-I,"He spluttered for a second, apparently caught of guard by me finally answering. "I just do, Magnus. I can feel it through the runes we share. He's not in pain, not physically, but…I don't know. It's like…he feels terrified. That's the only way I can describe it. And when I talked to him half an hour ago I could hear it in his voice to. Just please help us find him Magnus. I know you don't owe us anything, but we…I don't know where else to go. I can't lose him. I can't lose another brother."

I was silent for awhile, a hundred terrible things racing through my mind. Had Mammon found him? Had Mammon hurt him?

"No." My inner voice reasoned, "If Mammon found him then how did he answer Jace's call half an hour ago?"

"Maybe Mammon put him under a controlling spell…" I answered internally.

"Mammon isn't that strong, not right now. Not after using all that power to try and kill you."

"Magnus? Magnus are you there?" Jace's voice came over the line, pulling me away from my internal verbal civil war.

"I'll track him and call you back." I clicked the phone shut before he could answer and stood up, taking a few steadying breaths as my head spun. "Okay. Hangover cure, then you can track your wayward boy…ex-boyfriend."

Stumbling into the kitchen I gulped down a potion to take away the self-induced hang-over, leaning heavily against the sink as it worked. One side-effect of the hangover that I was sad to see go was the inability to think. I didn't want to think right now. I didn't want to imagine what could be happening to the love of my existence. And yes, he was the love of my existence. "Love of my life" didn't really cover it when I'd lived a hundred lives or more. I'd had loves of my life before, but they were just that: the love of one life, easily discarded and forgotten when I moved on to a new life. But not Alexander. No. I would never forget him no matter how many more lifetimes I lived. I would never not love him. He was the love of my existence, not of my life.

The last shreds of the hang-over fell away and I stood, looking around my apartment for something to track him with. I finally settled on a blood-stained t-shirt from a few weeks ago that had been chucked to the bottom of the hamper and forgotten due to both of us hating doing laundry. Taking a deep breath I murmured the spell, holding the shirt tightly in my hand as I tried to make sense of the images that flickered on the backs of my eye-lids. What I was getting wasn't clear, probably because of what-ever measures were put in place to keep him from being trackable at least by runic methods. I saw darkness, not black but like a poorly lit room. Bricks. Chipped paint. A glint of silver. Graffiti.

"The subway tunnel!" I exclaimed, eyes opening again. "But which subway tunnel…" I mumbled, running a hand back through my hair and staring at the shirt as if it would just start talking and give me all the answers.

Closing my eyes again I called the images back, hoping to see something that would give me a clue as to his exact location. And then I got a flash of not just what was around him, but what he was actually seeing. A little girl covered in blood and grinning ear to ear, a suited arm draped around her shoulders. My father's arm. I wanted to scream. And then I saw it: the subway platform number that had faded almost completely away visible just over my father's shoulder.

Dropping the shirt I raced out of the apartment, hoping I could get there in time.


	8. Deals

I was going so fast down the tunnels that I nearly tripped repeatedly over the various heaps of trash and old bricks. But I didn't care how much my pants tore or my hands and knees got scuffed. I just kept running, navigating the maze of tunnels in a desperate attempt to just find him. If I didn't get to him soon Mammon would…I couldn't even think about what Mammon could do to him. I just had to get there before it happened.

A few more strides and my eyes picked up the soft blue-white of a distant witchlight and I slowed, pressing against the edge of the tunnel. I moved forward silently, eyes scanning the few feet of tunnel I could see in front of me. As I came around a curve the shadowy outlines of three figures loomed out at me.

"I don't need any help from you. You're a filthy Shadowhunter. I don't want anything to do with you." A child's voice spat.

"As fun as it is watch you attempt to play the hero, Alexander, we have other things to attend to, as do you. Now run along." Mammon murmured.

Everything was silent for a moment, and then one of the shadows moved away from the other two and towards me. What the hell was going on? What could Alec, my beautiful, sweet, innocent, incapable of hurting anyone, Alec be doing working for my father?

But I didn't have time to think more about it before my father's voice cut harshly through the silence,

"Wait, Alexander. There's no point in you leaving now." I could hear the sick joy in his voice, but for what?

"Why?" Alec's voice echoed back. He was just on the other side of the alcove I was in. Another step and he'd see me. Another step and he'd be within grabbing distance.

"Because. Your target is already here. Magnus. Come out." Mammon commanded.

Target. Your target. Those words rang through the tunnel and through my head. Alec was… Mammon had…

I stepped out, coming face to face with a terrified blue eyed shadowhunter. But I only glanced at him for a moment before I slid my eyes to my father.

"What do you have on him? What did you do to get him to agree to kill me?" I demanded in a cool voice.

"I have the life of his family at my fingertips. I have the ability to destroy his soul so that he can never see them again, in any realm." Mammon answered, "Love is the best leverage after all."

The little girl giggled, still tucked against Mammon's side, "Why don't you just tell him, Master? He'll be dead soon anyways. It won't matter."

A slow smile curled on Mammon's lips, "I suppose you're right."

I saw Alec stiffen, his back still to Mammon. I had never seen him so terrified.

"You see," Mammon drawled, "your little toy has been lying to you."

"How so?" I answered just to buy time.

"For starters, did you know he died? Really, truly, put him in the ground, died? I don't know when, and I don't particularly care, but he has."

Alec let out a small whimper, his eyes squeezing shut. I'd been about to respond with a sarcastic retort of "and yet he's still here" until I saw Alec's reaction. Somehow what Mammon was saying was true. And I wasn't sure I wanted to know how.

"Tell him the rest." The girl giggled.

"Have you ever met an Angel, Magnus? Before you met Alexander, I mean. I don't think you have. Otherwise you probably would've figured it out. What he is." Mammon whispered, eyes lighting up as he saw the realization dawn on my face.

"You mean…" My eyes slid to Alec who was silently crying now, teeth gritted as if he were in pain.

"Oh, I mean." Mammon cackled, his arm raising and flinging out before I had the chance to move.

Alec flew sideways, slamming into the wall in a shower of bricks and dirt and dust. He yelped in pain and slid to the ground, arms going to protect his head from the falling debris. And I just stared. Stared at the white wings that had torn his shirt open and were folded against his back. Stared at this different version of the man I loved.

"You see. He's lied to you. Maybe for every day you've ever known him. Maybe not. But he lied. Over. And over. And over." Mammon's voice cracked the air.

"Alec…" I whispered, still unable to move as he struggled to get up.

I was frozen in fear, no idea what to do. But the biggest thought pounding in my head was how. How had he died? Had it been my fault? Had I not saved his life after the greater demon attack? Or after the battles against Valentine? Was all of this my fault?

Finally something broke me out of my imitation of a statue: Alec's small yelp of pain as another brick fell and hit his head, knocking him back down. I raced forward and pulled him away from the wall and any more falling bricks, folding him protectively into my arms. He sobbed, clinging to me desperately and mumbling that he was sorry, so sorry, over and over again. But I couldn't deal with his pain and fear right now. I couldn't deal with my pain and fear right now. I needed to get us out and I needed to get us out now.

"I will slaughter you." I growled over Alec's head tucked under my chin, drawing on the last remnants of my magic to encase my hands and lower arms in a crackling blue swirl of magic. I had to make Mammon think there was no way out of this for him, that I had enough power to back up my threat.

"Nice try, Magnus. But I know you don't have what it takes to back that up. Not right now. Not after the battles you've fought." Mammon sneered. "But. I will make you a deal." His voice had lowered, became smooth.

"What?" I asked warily, letting my magic die away.

"If you kill yourself now, I will leave Alexander and his family untouched. I will never do anything to any of them. I swear it."

Alec made a small sound of protest and tried to push away, but I kept my arms firmly around him. I was the one deciding weather or not to sacrifice my life to protect the man I loved. He didn't get a say.

"Fine." I whispered. "Kill me. I won't stop you."


	9. Demonic

Mammon's hand raised and I closed my eyes, waiting for whatever was about to come. What came was a sharp hit to my back, making my arms go numb, and then a hard shove against my chest that sent me sprawling backwards. My eyes snapped open to see Alec spin on his heel as he stood and launched himself at Mammon. His hand was raised, curling as if he were holding a sword though there was no sword there. And then there was. A glistening blade, but not an angelic one. Mammon only had time for a single step back before Alec plunged the sword through his chest.

It wasn't a killing blow though, not to Mammon. About the only thing it really accomplished was to make him very very angry. Alec stumbled backwards as Mammon growled low in his chest, hands grasping the hilt of the blade and pulling it out slowly. As the sword moved Mammon's human form fell away. His mouth split up to his ears which had grown to even sharper points. His eyes melted out of their sockets, replaced by squirming beetles that crawled out in streams and dropped to the floor. The expensive suit he wore ripped as his shoulders widened, huge plates of bone tearing through the blackening skin. Alec stepped backwards again, staring up at the towering figure that had only moments ago been a man.

The little vampire girl screamed and ran, vanishing into the shadows in seconds.

"Nice. Try." Mammon's voice rasped out, though the mouth of the creature standing before us now didn't move.

"Yes. It was a very nice try. Provided the perfect opening." An unfamiliar voice sounded.

Before anyone could react a blade protruded out of Mammon's chest: he'd been run through from behind. The blade shown brighter than any I had seen before. Except for one. Glorious. This was an Angelic blade. A true Angelic blade.

Relief flooded through me as Mammon cracked and turned to dust, fading out of existence in at least this realm. I thought things were going to be okay now, until I turned and saw the look of terror on Alec's face. He was stumbling backwards, away from the man who had killed Mammon. Without thinking I moved and pulled Alec back into my arms as best I could despite the numbness still tingling through them. I moved so that I was between him and the man before I really looked at the stranger.

He was tall and extremely lanky. His hair was ponytailed, white-blond dreadlocks with little streaks of what looked like metallic ribbons twined into the matted hair. He had on a tight fitting white t-shirt and baggy white pants. The angelic blade hung loosely in his hand, the tip almost touching the floor. But he had no wings that I could see. Not that that meant much. He could be easily hiding them in a multitude of ways.

"Who are you?" I asked, holding tighter to Alec as the feeling came back into my arms and trying not to think about how different it felt to hold him now. To feel feathers against the bare skin of my arms instead of fabric or skin.

"We'll go with 'James.'" He answered. "Much easier than what people usually call me."

"What do you want?"

"Just to talk. Alexander?" He coaxed softly, taking a step closer. "Alec. Please? Just hear me out for a minute, okay?"

"Stay away from him." I threatened.

But he ignored me and took another step forward, the blade he'd been holding vanishing in the dusty air of the subway tunnel. "Alec, I'm not going to take you away from here. I promise."

Alec shifted in my arms and turned to face James, a questioning look on his face, but his voice calm "But…the law…I revealed what I was. Am. The law says that…that you have to take me back to the Angel Realm and kill me."

I felt the color drain from my face and was about to speak up before James spoke first, "For one, you didn't reveal anything. You got caught up in a battle with one of the most dangerous demons in existence and he used your true nature against you. For two, Mammon's a fucking hard bastard to kill and you helped me to do it. For three, the only witnesses were your boyfriend and a little girl. It's not like you were outed in the middle of Central Park. And the little girl will be dealt with, we'll make her human again and erase the last few months from her memory, and the memory of those involved, and send her home to her terrified parents with a bad case of amnesia. For four, I made that law and I can ignore it if I damn well please."

"So…you're not…?" Alec whispered, his eye's searching James'.

"No, I'm not going to do anything to you. I'm going to walk away and let Magnus take you home and get you into bed and let you two sort things out between each other. But the rules are the same, Alexander. If anyone ever knows your secret, aside from Magnus, then I have to take you back to the Angel Realm and kill you. Unless," He grinned tiltedly, "you happen to help me bring down another big demon or two. I may be able to make another exception for you then."

Alec's mouth opened and closed a few times and eventually he let out a strangled "thank you" just as James turned and walked away.

I was still to confused to react until I felt Alec slump in my arms, sobs racking his body. I held onto him as we both went to our knees, his arms wrapped almost painfully tight around me as I held him just as tight.

"Shh, shh. It's gonna be alright. Everything is gonna be alright." I soothed, stroking his hair and kissing the top of his head. It didn't stop his shaking even slightly though. This was apparently a full break down. But I needed to get him out of here and home safely.

"Sweetheart, Sweetheart, listen to me." I said gently, tilting his head up to mine with a finger. "I need you to hide your wings, okay? I need you to hide them so I can take you home."

He nodded a little and closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths. His wings faded away, the only evidence they had ever been there his torn shirt. I slipped my jacket off and wrapped it around his shoulders, scooping him up in my arms despite his meek protests. He gave up on getting me to put him down quickly, just tucking his head into my neck as I carried him home.


End file.
